Fox attacks: protect your family

In 2010 9-month-old twins, Isabella and Lola, were attacked by a fox in their east London home. Last week, a 4-week-old baby boy was also mauled by a fox and narrowly escaped fatal head injuries thanks to his mum being able to fight off the fox and pull him to safety. Read our advice on how to keep your family safe from urban foxes.

Four-week-old baby boy Denny Dolan, is recovering in hospital after an operation to reattach his finger, which was almost bitten off by the fox, and to stitch up the deep wounds in his face. His mum, Hayley Cawley, was alerted to the attack after hearing a piercing scream from Denny's bedroom.

It took a number of kicks before the fox eventually ran away and Hayley was able to grab her baby from the floor and take him to hospital. Both parents claim that the fox was able to get into the house because of a faulty door lock which the local council had repeatedly refused to repair.

Calls for a cull

In response to the attack on Denny and the earlier attack on the Koupparis twins, Isobella and Lola, London Mayor Boris Johnson backed up calls to cull the foxes, saying: 'It's right that boroughs should focus on their duties for pest control, because, as romantic and cuddly as a fox is, it is also a pest.'

The local council in Hackney, where the Koupparis family live, say their fox problem isn't worse than anywhere else, but they have issued leaflets advising people to keep cats indoors and not leave pet food outside.

However, neighbours of the Koupparis family in East London say there is a big problem with foxes becoming more brazen in the area.

The twins' mum, Pauline, told The Sun soon after the attack that she will channel all her energy into getting someone to act on the urban fox problem.

Pauline said: 'I could not live with myself if this happened to another family.'

Do you think a fox cull is necessary? Do you have a problem with foxes in your area?Leave a comment at the bottom of the page or tell us on facebook.

Should I be worried about foxes in my area?

Foxes are becoming more common in urban areas - some estimates suggest that there could be up to 10,000 living in London alone. They can become a nuisance by emptying bins, digging, fouling and making lots of noise.

However, it is very rare that they are reported to attack a human.

John Bryant, a Humane Wildlife Deterrents Officer, told the BBC: 'It's a freakish event - it's not in my experience of fox behaviour. Foxes do anything to avoid trouble really.'

The RSPCA said: 'Foxes are shy creatures and this sounds like an extremely rare occurrence, however our thoughts are with the children and their families. We wish them a speedy recovery.'

How do I keep foxes away from my house?

The charity The Fox Project, which deals with sick and injured foxes, say that using repellents is a humane way to keep foxes away from your garden - they recommend either 'Scoot' or 'Get off my garden'. Both of these can be bought online at foxolutions.co.uk.

Continued below...

The RSPCA said: 'If people have issues with foxes near their homes they should contact their local authority or a licensed pest controller. To discourage foxes from people's property they should also ensure any rubbish and household waste left out is secure and not open for scavenging.'

What do you think?

This story has definitely shocked us - Do you see a lot of foxes in your area? Have you ever had one come into your house? Tell us your thoughts and stories by leaving a comment in the box below or on facebook.

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Heidi

No, we should not worry about foxes. This 'alleged' attack (yes it is still alleged because two babies were seriously hurt, you need proof of what happened) is not only extremely rare but has never happened before. Foxes are not criminal masterminds. What annoys me about the sensationalist coverage of this story as it causes this sort of hysteria which is negative and causes knee-jerk reactions which aren't always the best; do we really believe that gun-toting vigilantes getting revenge on evil foxes are the right way to go? Do we not realise that dogs and cats even cause more harm to children every year than this never heard before story? The Sun have been completely out of control with their sensationalist coverage, they allude human characteristics to wild animals and then get annoyed when they act like wild animals (if it is true that they have acted like wild animals).

Chrissi

I have had a young fox in our house, it was chased in by our rather aggressive cat she didn't realise it would run in and it was so scared it defecated on the floor when we were woken by it's cries she had it cornered on the sink-unit and we had to release it as the kitchen door had shut. as it was hot weather animals are more bad tempered, dog attacks seem to rise during hot weather. had anyone thought that the children had mistaken the fox for a soft toy? the site of the injuries seem to support this theory as my son slept with soft toys in his bed and our cats used to join them. When he was older, he would sometimes wake cuddling one of them. we did have a furfriend who was a bit unpredictable she would sometimes attack without any provocation, so were there any feral cats in the area? Cats do not usually fear going into a house, and cats are very close to the size of foxes too

pauline

i feel its very sad to read about these little babies being attacked.but i wonder why no one reported the problem earier about foxes being seen in the area,maybe if there was,nt so much litter ie fast food rubbish left lying around our streets foxes and other wild animals would,nt be around in the first place.you can,t blame the foxes really after all they,re after food easy pickings.although its a great shame that innocent babies have paid the price.i feel sorry for the families of course.

Pamela McL

So far I'm glad to hear that most people are not blaming the foxes. I am not saying the parents are directly at fault but I feel there are faults on both sides, human(s) and animal(s). If the parents were watching their 'open' entrance to the house and not the tv then the fox would not have dared get in the house. If the parents were that oblivious to a fox coming into their house, god help them and their two girls if a predatory human came waltzing in and either kidnaps or murders their kids. I don't imagine they'd not notice someone coming in so why not notice a fox coming in? I know foxes are classed as 'cunning' and 'sly', but they are also very 'timid' and 'shy'. They tend not to go near humans in the street or park never mind their houses. I truely feel for the two wee girls, I hope they are not too badly hurt and will get the chance to seek the proper help and care needed to get over their ordeal as they get older. Dogs and cats are more likely to hurt your children than a fox...not saying the odd fox couldn't, but you should be more aware of a household or neighbours pet or stray animal than a fox. Foxes only come into our areas because humans leave rubbish and food lying around for them to be lured to...not forgetting take-aways like McDonalds and KFC where rubbish is thrown onto the car park instead of in the bins. If we as humans make sure our bins are properly dealt with and no food is left lying around, you'll most likey find that the foxes will stay in their own habitats than come into ours... Also STOP feeding the foxes, I know they are cute and are hungry, but they are best left to their own devices with nature than us interfering....I hope this helps people to understand it's not just the foxes at fault, we as humans are too.

GINA DAVIS

If a fox did this? Why should it have died? It would not have been a cold calculated act, unlike people who do not pay for 'murder' with their lives. The RSPCA should be ashamed; the creature ought to been released into the countryside.

Richard Freeman

Needless hysteria. In the last 10 years there have been two fox attacks on humans. To put this in perspective 12,000 people per year are hospitalized by dog bites. More rats attack people than foxes! No doubt the slimy, toffy nosed tories will try to use this as amunition in their horrid plans to return the barbarism of fox hunting to the UK.

jan

there is know way that i can believe this was foxes. ok so they are on the increase in urban areas but where else are they supposed to get food. They are chased out of every area they try to survive in. Over zealous farmers who complain when they happen to cross their land and frighten their animals when trying to catch the occasional rabbit o.m.g. And wow knock a bin over to get scraps now because there is nothing else for them and now being blamed for bitting children as they slept, i dont think so try and find something else to blame foxes are far to timid to enter a place with the scent of humans so strong as a house. All we have to do now is wait on the over-kill 'pardon the punn' because thats what will happen next - its time for the major kill brigade to stick their oar in....it will be bring back the hunt and let them run riot in and out of cities and towns. Please god i hope not, enough of the foxes get killed on the roads anyway with lorries and cars speeding up the motorways and roads. Watch this space..see how many nutters jump on the kill them all band wagon.

Patricia Thompson

I cannot believe that people actually try to befriend these vile creatures. We have plagues of the darned things where I live, they are completely fearless and just stare at you when you shout at them to get them to go away. They've killed our beloved pet hens, in broad daylight, within our sight and still wouldn't go until they've finished slaughtering and mutilating them.

Pam

We live close to the edge of Blackburn with a farm across the road from us and open farmland and moors (with plenty of sheep grazing there,) within a mile of our home. In the seven years that we have lived here I have never once seen a fox. Even when walking my dog I have come across deer and rabbits but never a fox. Perhaps since the banning of fox hunting the farmers have had better control of maintaining the fox numbers in the country. I don't advocate culling of any animal, but perhaps the time has come to do something about the urban fox even if it is just catching and neutering them to prevent their increase in numbers as is done with feral cats.

Christine Nealings

I know this is an awful story & hope the two little girls will be ok. Fox's are beautiful animals that have been hunted for ever & a day, with most of our farm land and green belts vanishing is it any wonder they are starting to move nearer to our cities. Please don't persicute the fox's because of one awful story.

peter sammons

I find the whole thing difficult to believe the foxes we have in our area visit our garden on a regular basis they are very shy and not dangerous in my opinion like other comments already made what were the parents doing as has been said this could easily be a kidnap.

ruthbiddles

hi all, i'm really shocked about this incident, urban foxes are really shy, we have 2 in our garden but 1 has walked passed me 2 times. why would any animal/fox want to go up to a 1st floor and attack babies! when there's loads of rubbish to pick at in central london! are they sure that it was a fox? or is it another animal? i read that they were covered in blood and are critical, but a fox? they're more scroungers and it's very rare for them to have any contact with humans, but maybe i'm wrong!love to all concerned and best wishes, xxx

D.M. Glassock

Foxes are not as much of a pest as some people make out. So urban foxes can cause a bit of a mess going through bins etc. but so do domestic cats, and the foxes would not have become urbanized in the first place had their habitat not been wantonly destroyed and those few whose habitat remained not been literally 'hounded to death' in an anachronistic, barbaric and unsuitable form of culling which was done in the name of so-called sport. Thank goodness that this at least has been banned.

joanna

This behaviour is VERY unusual for a fox.Are we sure there were no dogs involved? Foxes are extreemly timid.It has taken me 2 years to tame one of our local foxes who will now very gingerly take food out of my hands, however he is wary of my small dogs and very scared of the cats! If it truly were a fox who did this deed i suspect he was either injured or trapped and scared. They are beautiful creatures lets not start some kind of witch hunt or make our childred scared of animal.

Juliet Wilder

This is hysteria at its worst. It's such a rare occurence, that's why it's made the news. It's obviously awful, and if you have foxes in your area, you should be vigilant but urban foxes are unlikely to do this. A child gets run over probably every day but I don't see a big fuss made daily about educating kids and drivers about that. Or how about feeding them right so they don't get prone to heart disease etc later in life (start them on rubbish food, they end up on rubbish food, it's all in the palate) I just think whenever something awful happens like that gunman in Cumbria we get hysterical (and of course these things are bad and we should be shocked) but other things happen much more frequently that we can actually prevent yet we get complacent on those as they're not unusual. What a world we live in. People, get a grip. Worry about the things that are most likely to happen, that you can actually make a difference to with some sensible actions.

mhayworth

We've had foxes in our neighbourhood for years now and many people take care of them and love having them around. In the very rare and few cases where foxes have been suspected of attacking a child, there has often been a dog either in the family or the direct vicinity that would be a much more likely suspect. It would be a shame if an experienced vet is not called in to look at the bite marks. Foxes are usually the first to be blamed for all sorts of things that other animals have done. The media doesn't help by investigating either.

Geoffrey Woollard

I have considerable doubts as to whether this happened as reported. Foxes are timid creatures.

Barbara

If this alleged attack took place then it is an extremely unusual and rare event, a hungry fox follows the scent of food, I cannot think why it would enter the house and go upstairs and how this happened without whoever was in charge of the children spotting it and scaring it away, after all the intruder could have been a kidnapper or worse, where was the supervision? After last week's tragic events in Cumbria David Cameron spoke against a "knee jerk reaction" about guns, well this incident is even rarer than someone going mad on a shooting spree so let's not have all sorts of tales of the big bad scary fox threatening us, foxes are timid creatures scraping for a living and they have enough against them without everyone immediately jerking their knees about dangerous foxes.

john peterson

foxes have become a nuisance in this area, north bournemouth.they can be very distructive creatures. I have one that digs huge holes close to my fences to gain access to other gardens. It has ripped out my runner beans. broken down two rows of peas and ripped holes in the netting which I put around my fruit bushes. nothing will deter this animal as it can jump over six foot fences, and scrabble over a six foot wall

Elisa

Reading numerous media sources, I do find this story a little odd. A fox allegedly walks through the house past the parents, seemingly avoided the kitchen, but goes up 3 floors into the childrens bedroom, gets into their cots & bites them each on the arm.. Not saying it definately couldn't happen, but it just sounds a little farfetched imo.

Lin

My heart goes out to that family. Where I live in Essex, foxes lived on local green belt land, hunting the many thousands of rabbits living there. They did not bother us or come into the residential area, hardly at all. Then the Council decided to build on the green belt land and bulldozed all the rabbits. The foxes are starving, now they often come into the residential area searching desperately for food. It is often because of the destruction of their habitat and their food supply by humans that they end up in our streets.

raquel garcia

foxes frightening? c'mon! they are shy and always run away when u try to get close. I have a family living in my back garden (we leave the far end of the garden bushy for them to rest there during the day) and they are perfectly fine. We always have the back door open and never have they dare to enter the house. What has happened to this 2 baby girls is extremely rare. So please, people do not get paranoid now about foxes being around. They are perfectly fine to live with. And lets not forget that it is US who are invading their spaces.

Elisa

Reading numerous media sources, I do find this story a little odd. A fox allegedly walks through the house past the parents, seemingly avoided the kitchen, but goes up 3 floors into the childrens bedroom, gets into their cots & bites them each on the arm.. Not saying it definately couldn't happen, but it just sounds a little farfetched imo.

Pip

This is just sensationalist and ridiculous reporting, especially the Facebook comments. This kind of attack is incredibly rare and more children are attacked and/or killed by domestic dogs than by wild animals. If you don't want foxes in your garden use a humane method to deter them as mentioned - don't start getting paranoid and deliberately hurting them, on the whole they are scared of humans.

joan hayes

will a fox attack my cat i see one in my area most nights

Val Millar

Careless parenting leaving access to any defenceless children. I am sorry they were hurt whoever was to blame they are innocent. It is unlike a fox to attack any human but did the little girls smell of food? Was there food in their room? I think culling the foxes would be wrong, humans have taken away their natural habitat and encouraged them to come into towns by leaving so much waste food around, now we want to kill them off, typical!! I suggest Mum acts with a little more care from now on and lock doors between the outside world and her beautiful children.

agnes

Ihave lived in the same house for over 20 years, have had foxes coming into my garden every night never had any problems with them,they run away when they see me at the window, or put a light on,I do not think it is right to have them killed.

hhickman

i think that if the government had not banned fox hunting we would not be experiencing the high population of foxes now which is forcing these wild animals into towns in greater numbers than ever before. this is also leading to a shortage of food for them causing them to look in alternative places and making them braver in the face of humans than before, as the foxes are hunters themselves they would not think twice about trying to take a baby (about the same size as a chicken!) as a survival for them and their offspring, a cull is definately what is needed but there is nothing better than hounds to sniff these vermin out. the previous government caused the problem now the present one needs to take action.

andrew

Why pick on the FOX AGAIN, i have worked where there are foxes and they have never bothered me, i have even fed them and as wild and shy creatures they have never come near to me until i have left the area,they have certainly never come into the shed where i work and most of the time the door is open. This is in my opinion another way for bloodsports men/women to get their kicks. Leave the countryside alone,stop building more and more houses in the countryside and leave the wildlife to their homes. Humans are more dangerous than foxes any day of the week.

m.

I agree with some of the other comments totally. When I first heard this story I thought no way and I would need real proof to believe it; I have studied foxes for many years and something just does not add up. The parent need to be looked at further also any family members dogs. This has made it worse for the foxes; they are bueatiful amimals that we should be proud of. Many people I have spoken to agree with me also.

Joanna

Foxes are vermin. They kill indiscriminately. They carry fleas and worms and other nasties and leave horrid smells and droppings. They scavenge bins and rubbish - rather like rats. Should they be in in urban areas? Are they a benefit for householders? I think not. Are they a threat to health and safety? Yes definitely.

Rob Kemp

Typical knee jerk reaction. ''Let's kill it/them''.....yeah go for it. As long as we keep interfering with nature this sort of thing will happen. The reduction in foxes will mean greater numbers of rabbits for example, then there'll be calls to cull them. There's calls to cull seagulls, badgers - where does it all end? The world's over populated, do we cull humans? certainly not. By the way I have kids and would be appalled but wouldn't call for the culling of any species. We all share the planet so need to co-exits peacefully.

maryann

i don,t believe this story,i am an animal lover, so i suppose i,m bias, but i get a bit fed up with people blameing animals for everything.May be the doors shouldn,t have been left open, knowing there where foxes about.

elle

I originally come from the countryside in north lincolnshire/south Yorkshire and country foxes can be aright menace as we keep chickens for showing Ive seen them take out 50+ birds in one evening and its not fun when its your pets. That being said they are extremely timid and do not like humans, the local shooters keep the numbers down but they dont resort to lamping as thats illegal even though its not fox hunting. It may sound cruel but when the ban on hunting came in the numbers rose lots in our area and they had to be controlled. I do not agree with hunting them or culling them as it just wouldnt work...and its a tad unfair as this is obviously a freak occurance. Since I came to university in leeds I have seen urban foxes for the first time and there behaviour is completely different while they are still timid they are alot more confident around humans. Ive seen a few in our garden aimlessly pottering about. I think its strange that theyed attack to kiddies I think thats awful and I hope they both recover quickly. In a reply to poko's statement about foxes killing cats and dogs being rubbish, theyre predators and if they think they can take an animal down they will no matter what it is. I have heard of foxes attacking pets one of my grandma's Westies was killed by a fox and we've also lost geese and cats to them too but they are the countryside foxes which are alot bigger and stronger/healthier as they have a ready food supply

samanda soanes

im a country girl, its rare for a fox to attack humans... lets get real' its more likely that a dog thats not properly handled is more likely to attack... should'nt we be concentrating on those issues and the amount of peadeophiles that roam our streets.. its very sad for those poor little girls and i'm not lessening the impact this must have had on the parents... but we need to look at what goes on as a whole.. take precautions but like any animal or human there will always be one amongst us that has a strange or dangerous brain that leads to abnormal behaviour... H

Natalie Humphreys

I wholeheartedly agree with Pamela. What sort of parents leave a patio door wide open and watch TV whilst their defenceless children sleep upstairs? It could easily have been an abductor that took away their precious children. If we want to blame anyone, blame the property developers who destroy the foxes natural habitat. How can we blame the foxes for having to come into urban territory to find food? Perhaps we SHOULD be actively feeding these creatures who mean no harm, but are just trying to survive in a modern world. I have grave doubts that it was, in fact, a fox that hurt the children, as it is not in their nature to kill except for food - and children are not on their menu! More children and people are hurt by dogs each year than foxes, but nobody advocates the killing of all dogs 'just in case'! It would be a travesty and a tragedy if these beautiful, shy creatures were 'culled' to allay the fears of the few.

angie49

At the back of my house the wasteland has been made into an animal reserve for wildlife and at night you can hear the foxes calling each other.We have Blue bags which we put our rubbish in for the dustmen to collect and its not unusual to see five or six foxes trotting up and down our street the night before collection scavanging for food. As for foxes being timid they may be sometimes but the ones near me are not. Quite a few times I've tried to shoo them away from the rubbish but they have still kept coming towards me. Iv'e chucked water at them but it doesn't stop them. If they really want something they will return to try and get.

ANNE

I work with foxes at a wildlife hospital and cannot believe a fox was to blame.They are never vicious except when cornered and very scared (as all animals including humans).I've never known one to just attack a human.I find them much more predictable than domestic dogs.Also they are very lazy when the weather is hot and tend to sunbathe not go on the rampage.This story just does not ring true.

Don

Whilst it is of course terrible that any children should be harmed I find this story very hard to believe. What evidence is there to support the allegation that it was a fox? We have many urban foxes in the area I live in and I have also had the privilige of seeing several in the wild but all have displayed the same characteristics of turning and running away when you get too close, admittedly some of the urban foxes have been reluctant to leave the scraps they have got out of the bin but this is hardly suprising as most animals (wild or domestic) will behave this way. Getting back to the incident i would like an explanation as to what would cause a fox to go into someones house, go upstairs and attack the children - i accept that an urban fox might be bold enough to go into a house (given the opportunity) if it smelt food but there would be no reason for it to go upstairs - surely it would go for the nearest scraps of food and not go searching throughout the house? Finally if you really don't like foxes or want them on your property don't kill them just spend some money preventing them getting in (that goes for hen owners too) because the fact is unless man is going to be responsible for yet another extinction killing them is not a solution because new foxes will move in to the territory of the fox you've killed.

JOHANNE

I REMEMBER WHEN MY NEPHEWS WERE BABIES MY SISTER STAYED IN A HOUSE AND A SMALL BACK GARDEN WHICH THE FENCE DOOR IS ALWAYS LOCKED PLUS A SAFETY GATE THING ON THE BACK DOOR AND THE LIVING ROOM DOOR PLUS MY SISTER WAS ALWAYS IN THE KITCHEN IF THE BACK DOOR WAS OPEN SIMPLE THINGS CAUSE IF A FOX COULD GO IN WHAT ELSE COULD HAVE HAPPENED

David Holland

Agree that it is rare for foxes to attack humans.Many people keep chickens or other poultry and foxes are a serious menace to poultry, lambs and other livestock

judy

What happened to those two little girls is horrific enough; but I think a tragedy waiting to happen. Urban foxes are everywhere; and certainly not encouraged by most people. I protect my property to the best of my ability; but they come every night and defecate all over my garden. They can climb over 6 foot walls; there is no way of stopping them. They have no fear of humans anymore. The best way forward in my opinion, is to cull the ones in our towns and cities; and substantially fine the people who discard the remains of their take away&#226&#128&#153s on the streets. There are more foxes on our streets than the domestic dog &#226&#128&#147 this can&#226&#128&#153t be right.

Netty

My boyfriend shares a house with his landlord in London. Last year the landlord and his wife were woken up in the middle of the night by a fox which had got into their bedroom. They live in a basement and the fox had fallen down the well in front of their basement window. As it couldn't get back up the side it had fallen down it jumped in through their window to try and get out that way. As their bedroom door was shut, it couldn't get out. It was absolutely petrified to be trapped in a room with humans and really messed the floor up! They eventually managed to get the bedroom door open but then it obviously went to hide in the flat so it took them ages to get it to run out through the open front door. I guess the fox in this recent case probably wandered in by accident looking for food. Why it attacked I don't know, but it is obviously not something that happens often so I don't think we need to be worried about it happening again.

sylvia

here in shropshire and wales they kill as many foxes as possible, they call it lamping and do it at night, they brag about how many they have shot in the pubs, one man said he had killed thirty in one evening. no wonder the poor foxes are heading into towns.

Alison

It is really awful that two little girls have been hurt in this way. But all the blame cannot be put on the foxes. Urban foxes have been around for many years and this is the first time I have heard such a story. But while ever human habitats are expanding into the countryside causing mass shrinkage of wild habitats, then it is inevitable that this kind of thing is going to happen. But the reintroduction of fox hunting is not the answer. If a cull is necessary then at the very least it's got to be done humanely.

sylvia

if they did not persecute them so much hear in shropshire and wales,( yes i know there is a ban but i see them at night lamping and coming home with as much as twenty dead foxes,) they would not come into the towns for refuge.

LIAM LAVERTY

i know this is awful but put yourself in the foxs paws if something ten times as big as u comes at u what do u do,the fox is a wild animal hunted to near extinction it dose nt know much as us on breaking and entering.So i say give the fox a glasier mint and abreak

fiona mcbride

Utter nonsense!! Poor foxes are not dangerous to humans and are persecuted enough. I think the parents should be suspected/investigated first, always turns out more to a story than first reported. Lets hope public see sense and do not over react to wild animals especially foxes and respect and treat them accordingly

Nat

I have to say I am very confused as to how a fox managed to get in to the house through the patio doors and all the way upstairs with out anyone seeing or hearing it? What on earth would be the reason for a wild animal to do this? It is a very sad story and I pray that the babies will both recover from their injurys fully, but that doesnt mean to say I understand. Something doesnt seem quite right to me. I used to live in the country and there were foxes around all the time, we used to hear them barking at night and see them in the fields surrounding the house hunting rabbits but not one ever came anywhere near the house and definately didnt try to enter it.

Poko

was this really a fox attack?has anyone took DNA swabs to prove this?Yes they are wild animals and scavange for food and since wheely bins this is harder for them.But to kill babies,dogs and cats I find is total rubbish.

Truthseeker

Never read such a load of old rubbish. Where is the proof that a fox was responsible for either of these alleged attacks ? Seems anyone can say anything these days without a shred of proof to back up their claims. So, stop your scaremongering and nonsense and find out about the people making these accusations. A good start would be to find out why the father of those Hackney twins ran to the USA the day after his kid's were 'attacked' and why the parents refused DNA testing and a bite anaylst to go anywhere near their kids. You must think we were all born this morning.

Pimon

No I don't find it strange in this dumb country and world full of dumb selfish animals call human beings, who go on reading crap like this in the papers and who cant form an informed view on anything

Gemma

Stupid parents, if a fox can get into your house who else can, its just bad parenting stop blaming foxes and look after your children and leave the foxes alone.

isa

We&#195&#130&#194&#180ve invaded their natural territory and they just need to survive. I don&#195&#130&#194&#180t believe a fox will attack just for the sake of it and even less a human unless it was defending itself. Lizoo, do you keep yoyur ducks and chicks secure overnight? Because if you don&#195&#130&#194&#180t it might be your fault what has happened to them.

Lizzoo

Anyone who defends foxes obviously hasn't had to bury the headless corpses or their pet ducks. I used to be against fox hunting, as I saw it pointless as the fox wasn't eaten, it was just blood sport. But now, after losing my 3 pet ducks and 2 chicks to a persistent (the amount of damage to the solid wood duck house was frightening) murdering (because it didn't eat them, just left headless bodies for me to clear up) smelly, disease-ridden vermin, I want to kill them all. They are a danger to peoples pets and children (from the disease they carry and spread in their poo and urine)

GINA DAVIS

Don't cull the foxes-man's answer to everything -KILL. Mr Livingstone condemmed the pigeons in Trafalgar Square to a slow lingering death from starvation, now we have Mr Johnson braying for the killing of foxes, the first showed a meanness of spirit which spoke volumes for the man, and Mr Johnson's rallying cry, illustrates his seeming lack of one the finer qualities of mankind, respect for others, especially the lower species! the weak and defenceless.

christine winnan

Just one more thing. All earth's species have varying personalities and most are very capable of viscious acts even humans,.....and foxes.....they do not have the stereo type of being sly and aggressive for no reason.

christine winnan

The problem of foxes becoming very brazen in urban places has become a serious matter and needs to be dealt with. Councils are partly to blame because of the new rules and regulations about leaving rubbish out in black sacks at night and having them picked up in early morning. It now appears to becoming clear that the ancient practise of fox hunting was known to be necessary IN IT'S TIME as regards the amount of foxes breeding and becoming a threat to children. I say 'in it's time' because there are more humane ways of culling any animals in this day and age. Comments such as those by people like Anne Khan,whose comment appears first and suggests that the parents of the twins are lying about the incident and that there should be a culling of humans rather than foxes, smacks of one of those extremist animal rights activists. Yes, all animals should be treated with respect....but not at the cost of innocent young lives as is so often the case....mainly with the canine type in urban places. As regards Ms Khan's comment about the foxes making a home in her garden ie: "i think they were grateful to have a home that was safe", it's a shame that the twins didn't have a safe home from foxes. And just because SOME people behave like animals with their food droppings does not make it ok for children's lives to be put at risk! I wonder how Ms Khan would feel if she had children who were attacked by foxes.....bet she'd have a different view then...or maybe not, taking on board her dislike of humans other than herself, maybe she WOULD put the foxes welfare above her own child's! There were six foxes outside one of my friends houses early one evening last week, some adults and some cubs. Her young son came home and they did not move but just stared at him. He felt very frightened and intimidated by this and ran around the back way to get indoors. We all know what packs of canines can do and there are many sad cases of people scarred for life to prove it. I moved to a new home last week and there was a fox out the front of my house which is an open garden with a busy street and road....and this was in broad daylight! There is no doubt that since fox hunting was banned that foxes are becoming more and more of a hazard and a danger to children. On a final note, I believe that all creatures on this planet have every right to respect, and humans "having dominion over the animals", have the responsibilty of protecting them, and if culling needs to be there are humane ways of doing it in this day and age...but we need to be balanced and not lose sight of the fact, that animal rights extremists have a very warped and one sided view and seem to be quite unconcerned that 'little humans' who also need to be protected, are being maimed for life. To try to support their extremist views by denying these things are happening and to suggest that people are lying is ludicrous and extremist. These people will have neighbours who would know whether they had a dog or not. Ms Khan...I suggest that you get counselling about your hatred of your own race and your umbalanced view of reality.

Edward Haddon

Does any one else find it strange, that very shortly after a Conservative led coalition (of which the majority of Conservative MP's in it, have been calling for the return of fox hunting), gets into power that the papers are then full of stories about Urban foxes attacking children in towns and cities. Could it just be that they want the Townies, who the rural fox hunting alliance openly say were the main movers for the end of fox hunting, to get scared of foxes so that they then do not appose the rural fox hunting alliance when it tries to reverse the fox hunting ban. London Mayor Boris Johnson's call for a cull is just the start, if you except a cull you then start down the road back to barbaric fox hunting! Funny how he just happens to be pro the movement by the fox hunting alliance to get fox hunting legalized again!

Anne Khan

Yes it is very sad these babies were injured but as yet we don't know for sure that it was a fox. Personally i don't think so but that is just my opinion. To me, Foxes are not the problem, humans are!! Here in London, as in most cities, we have a huge uncontrollable problem with rats. Humans are to blame for this with their disgusting habits of food waste dropped in streets, non stop food waste from over buying, our masses of takeaways, cafes and restaurants. Without the Fox this would be an even greater problem. For the last 2yrs i have had a vixen make a den at the bottom of my garden in East London, i have some lovely photos/movie of the cubs playing in the garden and were such fun to watch playing and chasing each other. Last year she had 5 cubs and this year 4. At no time has she or the cubs made any attempt to enter my house even though i have/had my kitchen door open all day. Both she and the cubs have been very timid when i went out in the garden and made themselves scarce till i've gone back indoors. I have never fed them, i've never had any type of problem with their presence and i think they were grateful to have a home that was safe... Foxes have been living and coming into cities since the first world war, which is when they first entered, fact. Maybe more are in our cities now because we as humans thinking, misguidedly, we are the dominant race, have trashed their countryside habitat with mass use of pesticides and pollutant chemicals, done away with hedgerows all of which housed rodents and small creatures that the fox would have originally lived on. This was done in our never ending greed for mass open farming to feed our never ending greed for mass produced food for never ending mass produced humans, all done at the cost of not only the wildlife but also the planet. It seems to me when i hear the humans shouting for a cull of Foxes/wildlife that these people are very, very selfish, thinking only of themselves as always. What we truly need is a cull of humans. Humans will not be satisfied till they've culled all wildlife to the point of complete extinction. Humans are indeed very very selfish and very very greedy and are the true ones who are well over populated, this is the true reality, this is the true sadness...

Unhappy Man

another knee jerk reaction. all over the south people are killing foxes, squirrels, sea gulls - it's getting mad and sickening - and I've seen the dead bodies of these animals......where will it end? let's just kill all animals and insects, then leave humans to just kill each other......god help us all!!!!!

Helen

My husband + i have had problems with foxes in our garden.they stand up to my husband +I have a fox problem.they have ate my sons goalnet + do not move when we try to get them out of our garden.when you have children it is scary to read about these attacks.

bob

yes fox will atack cats and cats allso kill kitens

bob

pleqse dont bring back fox hunting

Jasmine

This incident is one in a million, and foxes are not household pets that love humans, so why should they be critisized? It's not like you can go up to then and stroke them any day. As any other animal, foxes need space and it's not like humans are the only animals on this planet, foxes need to kill, hunt and eat. Shut up about chickens, coz' most of them are kept inside (yes even free range) and they rarely kill them. And if you care about your chickens - why don't you protect them better? Foxes are not dumb animals - they are intelligent. I have a male fox in my garden who is as healthy as ever and sprints when he sees a human. Fox cull - no way - how would you feel if foxes had a human cull and your family got killed? Exactly - animals have feelings too. And if you think foxes are so bad then WHY on the radio EVERY DAY "WOMAN/MAN MURDERED/SHOT?" Explain.

Claire

Well It is horrible that the Children got hurt, but as far as a Fox cull goes.....definately NOT!! We have lots of Fox's in our area and I have never seen one step into my home. I used to leave the patio doors open too. I watched my siamese cat (who was very small) chase a fox away, and the Fox was scared. I think we Humans have done enough to the Fox...hunted and scared out of its wits, enough is enough. Fair play they can live in the Towns and Cities. And the other comment was right, if we didnt have so much rubbish about they would not have such a food source. And as for the Fox's killing all the Chickens in a coup......well that is their instinct. If they were left alone to finish what they started you would see they take the other ones and bury them for a later date, as they never know when they might catch another meal.

Neil

It's nice to read a balanced article on this story for a change. As yet, there has been no evidence presented that this attack was caused by a fox. Even if we accept that it was, the consensus amongst fox experts is that it was likely to have been a curious cub. There are no other recorded incidents of foxes attacking people, indeed they manage to live peacefully alongside our cats so if there was truly a problem with aggressive foxes I think it would have been apparent before now. Yes this is an awful thing to have happened but we really do need to get it in perspective - one incident amongst thousands of foxes in many decades is hardly indicative of a problem. The incident in the playground is, I believe, entirely incomparable. Any wild animal grabbed by the tail by a child will defend itself. This is not an attack, this is normal behaviour and why children should be educated about proper behaviour around all animals. A cull is not only an entirely disproportionate reaction, all experts, including local councils, agree that research has shown culling to be ineffective at reducing fox numbers. Indeed studies also show that there is no increase in fox numbers but that they are in fact stable. Yes foxes are, in some areas, becoming a little more bold. This is likely due to people handfeeding them and overstepping the boundaries which should exist between people and wild animals. What is needed is a reasoned, informed look at our interactions with foxes and education about what is appropriate.

suzan

am sorry, but an animal is an animal(be it fox or....) foxes can and will attack! what's with all this feeling bad for foxes stories? my sister lives in uk with two baby boys! my heart made a sommeresault by reading about the twins incident! parents: plse be ultra careful!

grannyg

Where do people get this rose tinted impression of foxes. They are totally evil. Don't just kill for food but will kill every hen in a coop and just take one. The ones in our area (and we are overrun with the things) have no fear of humans, have killed all our pet hens which we loved dearly and did our utmost to protect and for our grandson to have to witness his pets being killed in broad daylight and the fox not even attempting to run when we screamed at it is not pleasant. They bite the heads off birds and leave the corpses of the ones they don't take. Hateful, hateful things. Bring on the cull.

MSS

I just can't beleive some of the comments I have read on here??? I defy anyone to accept that a child being attacked by a fox or any other wild animal is not a problem! I can't beleive that any adult, given recent attacks, STILL encourages these WILD ANIMALS in to their gardens by feeding them???? Crazy, simply crazy?? It may well be the case that these individuals have had "no problems" to date and for their sake, long may that continue. However will it take for them to be attacked or their neighbours child to be mauled for them to realise that these urban foxes are not story book characters and have the potential to kill!!!! And for the posts relating to these attacks being "odd"??? Foxes are natural predators and WILL attack given the opportunity, particularly if they come accross PREY more vulnerable than themselves, like SMALL CHILDREN!!!!!! Wake up!!!!!! Take off the rose tinted glasses and keep the Disney mindset for the cinema.

jan

If people didnt leave so much waste and rubbish around then foxes and rats would go elseware for food and not scavenge around houses. its obvious really that they will go where the food is easy to find.we have had foxes in the garden and when they see you they cant get away quick enough. How many dogs have maimed kids in towns and you don't get people saying that all dogs in towns should be put down.

susan

I feed the foxes in my who come into my garden and in 15 years never known them to walk into a house and they avoid my cats in fact they thank me by sitting at rat holes and catching them have never known in over 60 years foxes to come into houses has any one else what about the experts commenting on them i remember a few years ago Gordon Stracen? doing a session on the fox family in scotland and how difficult it was to get them on camera for Springwatch

Helen

How did the fox manage to bite both children at the same time without one screaming and their parents hearing? Its a very odd story.

yummy mummy

i think this is a created story either because the family has a dog that did this why would a fox go into a house sneak past people in the front room when it could just root through the kitchen bins! and then go up a flight of stairs and jump into the cot (or cots) and maul sleeping babies??? hmmm or torys want to bring back fox hunting oh and the second fox "attack" if u pull anythings tail including a dog or cat it will bite you!!

Lorraine Usher

I am horrified that the public want to cull foxes because of a few isolated incidents. The fox was probably hungry and desparate for food. I feed several foxes everynight and they are shy creatures, they come around 11pm to eat the food and run away if disturbed. They are not advocating culling of all dogs where the incidents are far higher. Foxes have become what they are because of humans, have a bit of compassion for them. They have a short life span have a heart.

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